Box Call Preference?

[Jake St. John]

I forgot to tell why I like hewn boxes.  Back when I made that first box in 1986 with Mr. Wineman, we were trying to get one that had more volume than the glued ones.  We saw and heard the Stribling ones that Dr. Winn used.  They had thicker sides and thicker paddles hewn out of solid blocks of walnut and persimmon mainly.  Loud was the understatement.  Mr. Stribling was 80 at the time and Mr. Wineman pleaded with him to make us one.  He had quite.  We borrowed one. Wade and I made one.  The first one I made was absolutely horrible (Gave it to my brother).  The second one is the the one pictured.  I sometimes tell people that I would sell you my wife before I would sell that box.   The funny thing about that old box.  It is loud,  but owe how soft you can play it.  That gives you a whole lot of options when working birds.  The only thing, it does not gobble, so I developed the Gator Gobbling Stribling for that.  It does not have as great a fall off, and is not quite as loud.  I hunt with both and rarely use anything else.  I think of the last 11, only one was killed with another call in the sequence of calls and it was a stacked double mouth call that I was answering with my old box and gobbling on a Gator.   

[Barefoot]

I guess i like hewn  box's  I don't own a glued box  Who makes a good sawn and glued box ?

I guess Mr Lynch's box is the pinnacle of a sawn and glued box, but I also build a sawn and glued single-sider that seems to satisfy a lot of people. I own a couple of hewn boxes as well, but I am not yet set up to build them this way. Hopefully, within the next year or so, I will get set up and become proficient in hewing out the box so that I can offer more options. I have killed several turkeys with both types of call and have played them both on the same bird. I often find that a bird will like one box more than another and about as often as not, the box they prefer is my sawn box. It really made me smile when one particular ol' tom liked my box more than one of Mr Albert Paul's. No doubt that he makes a superior call to mine, but that turkey liked mine better on that day.

So, I guess the answer to your question is that I prefer the one the turkey is answering and I'll continue to carry (and hopefully build) both.

[AlanKrow]

Both...

[letinmfly]

Both types of calls can sound good and I have no issues with a good sounding call...so I would say both for hunting.  I do prefer and do focus on buying mainly hewned out calls.

[PA Boxcall]

Both types of calls can sound good and I have no issues with a good sounding call...so I would say both for hunting.  I do prefer and do focus on buying mainly hewned out calls.

I agree with that statement; I have a glued walnut/walnut box that I wouldn't trade for anything.  That little box is in my hands from morning until quit time.

[Jake St. John]

Barefoot, You don't need much equipment to make hewed calls.  Up until 6 mos. ago I used three major pieces of equipment.  A cheap harbor freight drill press, a chainsaw on the logs, a 10 in. Sears table saw.  I used a hand saw on the stuff too big to go through small band saw.  For finishing I used a round file, a small stanley block pane, and sandpaper.   To cut the time down I added a planer/joiner and yesterday a belt sander to take the time off of doing the radius of the paddle.  On the call pictured, I used Mr. Wineman's drill press, a hand saw, a block plane, the round file, and a dremel motor tool (I burned it up pretty quick and never replaced it.)

[Zumer]

Both types of calls can sound good and I have no issues with a good sounding call...so I would say both for hunting.  I do prefer and do focus on buying mainly hewned out calls.

I agree with that statement; I have a glued walnut/walnut box that I wouldn't trade for anything.  That little box is in my hands from morning until quit time.

I'll bet,  it's a Rohm Bros......     Sounds like someone else, I know......

[letinmfly]

Both types of calls can sound good and I have no issues with a good sounding call...so I would say both for hunting.  I do prefer and do focus on buying mainly hewned out calls.

I agree with that statement; I have a glued walnut/walnut box that I wouldn't trade for anything.  That little box is in my hands from morning until quit time.

I'll bet,  it's a Rohm Bros......     Sounds like someone else, I know......

I've got one of those too Zumer!!       Heck of a good sounding glued up call!!  

[PA Boxcall]

Both types of calls can sound good and I have no issues with a good sounding call...so I would say both for hunting.  I do prefer and do focus on buying mainly hewned out calls.

I agree with that statement; I have a glued walnut/walnut box that I wouldn't trade for anything.  That little box is in my hands from morning until quit time.

I'll bet,  it's a Rohm Bros......     Sounds like someone else, I know......

It is...I ran that other one you know about...any wonder it looks as worn as it does??   Killer little call, no doubt.

[J R Hunt Camp]

Both types of calls can sound good and I have no issues with a good sounding call...so I would say both for hunting.  I do prefer and do focus on buying mainly hewned out calls.

I agree with that statement; I have a glued walnut/walnut box that I wouldn't trade for anything.  That little box is in my hands from morning until quit time.

I'll bet,  it's a Rohm Bros......     Sounds like someone else, I know......

I've got one of those too Zumer!!       Heck of a good sounding glued up call!!  

... agreed - buddy of mine from up there sent me a pair of 'em - one in Wormy Chestnut & the other in Walnut - both are great soundin' little callers for sure ...

[Porter]

I prefer hewn, but I do not hesitate to use a glued up call either!!!

[triune]

Interesting input and has leaned toward the hewn out calls.  I make both styles of boxes and can't say I like one more than the other for hunting.  I sell more of the sawn and glued boxes and they have killed birds all across the country.  I carry one of my sawn/glued boxes and a little paddle call I make that is also sawn/glued.  My wife carries one of my hewn boxes.
Barefoot, it really doesn't take much tooling to do the hewn boxes.  All I use is a bandsaw, table saw and drill press.  Other than a chisel and mallet that's it.  Well, I use a belt sander for the radius on the paddle.  I enjoy the hands on of the chisel and then the pocket knife for tuning on the box.

[letinmfly]

Kenny,

You should post some of your calls on here!!     I ahve one of your sawn and glued calls and it sounds great!! 

[callmakerman]

I only use a hewn out box as that's all I make and have started to lean more towards the Turpin style in the last few years as I really like the sound of these calls. Robert Clift makes one heck of a sawn and glued box.  Bill

[Dragonfly]

really quite simple for me.  I like the sounds of both but prefer carved out calls because they in my mind will last longer and hold up better over time.